Was Affirm Legit? Here’s The real truth about This Borrowing Organization
Was Affirm Legit? Here’s The real truth about This Borrowing Organization Regarding credit organization, the majority of people become exhausted. Do you know the hidden costs? Normally these companies feel top with your bank card facts? Are Affirm just another scam or business that will leave you that have enormous obligations? Affirm’s impact on the internet is growing, so it’s no wonder a lot more people are generally making use of the team otherwise potential prospects would like aside about the organization in advance of they make the leap. This short article describe just what Affirm is, as well as the characteristics that one can assume, and and discover if the business is legitimate otherwise maybe not. What exactly is Affirm? Affirm are based from inside the 2012. The reason for the business is to try to provide a very responsible opportinity for people to use credit when they buy things. It is essentially a better alternative to playing cards. Situated in Bay area, Affirm are an economic lender enabling you to definitely manage an excellent mortgage at the point out-of sales and make a purchase. Normally Anybody Have fun with Affirm? The theory is that, yes. However, Affirm tries to be responsible with regards to giving people borrowing from the bank. Ergo, all mortgage should be acknowledged and usually have an answer within minutes. Factors that connect with your qualification tend to be your credit report, how good you paid the past Affirm money, the rate of the vendor where you stand obtaining a great mortgage, and just how much time you’ve been an Affirm buyers. After you have occupied the cart and you will hit the checkout section, Affirm will show up since an installment option. Or even see it one of the alternatives, then chances are you you should never have fun with Affirm to spend at this version of online store. But can you imagine one Affirm can be found. Come across it their payment liking, enter into their contact number to get a verification code, and you will enter the password to find out https://www.trust-loan.com/payday-loans-nv if you’ve been acknowledged. Ought i Play with Affirm Within Actual-World Shops? Sure, Affirm isn’t limited to on the internet conversion. However, just some stores accept this monetary financial, very make sure that your chose shop accepts Affirm in advance. When you’re searching on an Affirm-connected store, you can make use of an online cards into Affirm software so you’re able to pay money for your purchase. An amount might be loaded on to this credit also it works identical to a charge credit. How many Days Is An enthusiastic Affirm Mortgage? Affirm has the benefit of flexible percentage plans. You might choose from the two-month bundle, where you pay every next times, you can also shell out every month. Typically, a monthly Affirm financing normally run ranging from six and you may 12 months. What’s the Borrowing limit having Affirm? Technically, there’s no maximum. Although not, this does not mean as possible shop wildly initially that you use the credit team. Affirm often nevertheless restriction your centered on your own credit history however, don’t worry. You can build up their history with Affirm by the diligently spending their fees and very quickly enough, you might be assigned a better limitation. Exactly why are Affirm Distinct from a charge card? If you have been burned by playing cards in earlier times, you understand that they pledge you the entire world (to start with). The fact is, such as for example monetary loan providers cover-up the real will set you...
Read MoreThese fund have no repaired dollar matter and you will home improvements are finished in this 120 days
These fund have no repaired dollar matter and you will home improvements are finished in this 120 days Turnkey residential property become at a premium, plus in good https://paydayloanalabama.com/grimes/ seller’s business of many consumers often find by themselves cost out of the family they need. you might discover viewing your preferred family facelift stars rehash floor plans and you can restore reputation pleasing on tv, the truth of purchasing a home that needs advancements would be daunting specially when you happen to be offering property otherwise managing swinging timelines too. Why should you Imagine an excellent Fixer Higher Home? To acquire a home that needs works isn’t really for all, however, there are several benefits to believe the largest getting it could get your towards the area you desire. The proximity on the right universities, relatives and buddies, services otherwise situations you prefer can also be impacts the future pleasure inside the a house. In fact, engaging a lender at the beginning of the procedure can help you get a much better comprehension of exacltly what the financing options are and you will exactly what you can afford You also pay most into capacity for flow-for the in a position, so you might come across it is possible to manage more substantial domestic or you have less competition when you look at the to buy process in the event that you go searching for a home that needs improvements. Furthermore difficult to quantify the wonder and you may reputation from a great household who’s some record in addition to satisfaction you could potentially get into the getting your own stamp with it together with your choice of finishes and fittings. Resource Your own Advancements Scale and you will extent are a couple of techniques it is possible to consult your own lender whenever choosing the sort of financing your will demand. Can you transfer to the home right away? Have you been in a position to stay static in the house whenever you are design happens? The length of time can you hold off through to the developments manufactured? These are every questions you ought to consider. To have large scale home makeovers, you will probably go through a traditional build credit techniques. You can get your home and you will work on your builders and the financial doing all of the renovations. While many moments structure loans require a couple separate closings, that on pick plus one at the conclusion, at MVSB we offer the capacity to done one another phases that have just one closure, preserving some time resources. When it is mainly cosmetics or less scale updates you aspire to create right away, including a kitchen area enhance otherwise completing an unfinished place, you will likely use a rehab financing. There are just several disbursements within the restoration procedure, that protection offers and one to have labor. And if you’re already yourself you need, but it’s looking a small dated or otherwise not functioning just how you need, envision a property update financing otherwise taking advantage of the newest collateral in your home with a property Guarantee Loan or Collection of Credit. Opting for Your own Lender You don’t have to hold back until you have receive a property to speak with a loan provider. Choose a loan provider you feel at ease with, and therefore takes the time to generally meet you and assembling your shed desires. MVSB really does a great deal of construction financing in your neighborhood, therefore we remain well connected which have reputable real estate agents, developers, and you can builders...
Read MoreMoneyplace – The fresh new Car loan (Advanced level borrowing) – Protected | Fixed
Moneyplace – The fresh new Car loan (Advanced level borrowing) – Protected | Fixed *iSelect (due to their entirely had part, Tyrian Pty Ltd) and you can Fair Testing Pty Ltd (hence operates which credit equipment research) get located a fee in the event the users click on through, apply, or effectively qualify, for a financial loan or credit card device regarding or thanks to a beneficial merchant. Evaluation Price Fair Review compares mortgage issues of a selection of banking institutions and you may other monetary otherwise borrowing equipment organization and will not compare all of the items in the business or the tool enjoys. In order to filter the results, you will need to enter some elementary pointers that’ll build an evaluation of goods that slide inside those individuals variables. The brand new default purchasing of products is dependant on evaluation speed. Reasonable Assessment don’t account fully for the expectations, finances or need, otherwise provide solid advice, recommendations or suggestions. What’s a car loan? Auto loans are a great resource selection for of several Aussies, providing you entry to finance to buy your need vehicle, so you’re able to drive they even though you pay it off. Instead of personal loans which you can use to finance a choice regarding sales, an auto loan have a tendency to usually include an excellent contractual duty that the cash must be used buying an automobile. Which are the benefits and drawbacks away from car and truck loans? When it comes to providing financial support for your this new tires, it is critical to look at the advantages and disadvantages out-of taking out fully an auto loan, and you will given whether it’s suitable for your. Give money: You routinely have a long time that to repay the borrowed funds (usually any where from step one so you’re able to 17 age with respect to the financial) which could make costs easier to perform. Would not sink your savings: A car loan helps you purchase a vehicle and you may pay off during the installment payments, in the place of having to generate a massive dollars costs you to puts a large damage on your own savings account. All the way down interest rate: Sometimes car loans can be appeal a reduced interest rate than just a beneficial personal loan, particularly if the car finance are secured. Improved obligations: When you’re controlling several borrowing products (particularly credit cards otherwise a mortgage) up coming extra repayment obligations you certainly will save some money slim. Threat of losing new resource: Should your loan are protected and you also standard on the payments, then bank typically has the legal right to grab new resource they and sell they to recover its loss. Risk damaging your credit rating: If you standard on your own mortgage, if you don’t for individuals who pay it off but you may be frequently later in making your instalments, this might has a bad influence on your credit rating, and for that reason potentially reduce your possibility of acquiring borrowing later. Fees: Lost money you certainly will feature a lot more charges that you might not possess factored to your payment funds, putting you below most financial filter systems. How to examine car loan business to find the ideal equipment? When you compare auto loan also provides made available from lenders, you should examine a variety of different features, besides the new said interest. We have found are just some of the characteristics really worth contrasting: Interest rate: This is the advertised interest rate which can be applied to the...
Read MoreHow Price Shopping Affects your credit rating?
How Price Shopping Affects your credit rating? Rates looking is not an entirely the fresh new build. Most of us try created buyers and we know the techniques. But not, the problem is we don’t incorporate they when we is looking for personal fund. This website means how exactly to perform the speed trying to find delivering inexpensive personal loans. We’ve indexed several things that you have to know before you can start your search. ?Rates of interest & Annual percentage rate ?Signature loans We simply cannot predict what’s nearby. As soon as we try one on one that have such as concerns, we both trust our savings otherwise we choose for an effective personal loan. And according to data create by the Lloyds Lender, 33% off Brits (adults) do not cut their money on a regular basis. To manage up with new unforeseen, i borrow cash. When we begin the check for unsecured loans on the web, we commonly forget several things that we is always to check out. The top topic that individuals overlook was – rates shopping. It’s a very important section of entire looking processes that you should not miss at any cost. Let’s that is amazing your went searching with your closest friend. Your enter into a shop and you can preferred things – when you are an effect consumer, you’ll pick it up on very first wade. But if you is actually an aware consumer, you are going to look out for even more kinds and undoubtedly, the cost section. Very, whenever you are in search of financing, how will you overlook contrasting them? Let’s understand the rates looking into the facts. What is Rates Looking? Rates looking is understood to be the whole process of researching more desire costs and you can Annual percentage rate provided by certain lenders. More loan providers have a tendency to price other interest rates for the personal loan application. Rates searching allows you to buy the cheapest one that’s available to you. This can help save you much time and money. In simple terms, you have to comparison shop and discuss other APRs. Rather than shopping around, the possibility of your getting an affordable consumer loan is smaller. As a debtor, you must understand the real difference regarding the price of the newest readily available activities. Once you sign up for some other signature loans with different lenders, there is certainly a chance that credit rating would-be affected. Once the numerous loan requests indicate multiple credit monitors. Understand how it commonly impact your relationship with credit score, let’s dig higher engrossed. Difficult Credit score assessment Whenever a loan provider pulls out your credit rating, they will leave a footprint on it. It will hit out-of a few issues out of your get. Also, the lenders that you apply to possess later on may see this. Mellow Credit check A soft credit check was a proper review of your own credit statement. Loan providers can get check your credit report without the impact on your get. Meaning that have a delicate credit assessment your credit rating will feel secure. There are a few lenders exactly who carry out a softer credit assessment to help you evaluate the loan app. Unlike signing up to additional lenders, you are able https://paydayloanslouisiana.com/cities/kenner/ to apply to you to definitely borrowing from the bank broker. LoanTube has a share of FCA authorised lenders who carry a flaccid credit check ahead of providing its inside the-principle choice. You don’t need to to make use of to help you several loan providers. Your loan...
Read MoreMaineHousing has the benefit of Earliest Financial mortgage loans compliment of a great statewide circle off banks, credit unions and you may mortgage people
MaineHousing has the benefit of Earliest Financial mortgage loans compliment of a great statewide circle off banks, credit unions and you may mortgage people System Realization MaineHousing’s First Mortgage Program makes it much simpler and more affordable to acquire a property of by giving reasonable repaired interest mortgages. Discover alternatives with little if any downpayment called for, assuming you nonetheless still need advice about the money to have closure will set you back, we also offer an advance payment and you can closing pricing guidance solution named Virtue. Little downpayment – Whenever an excellent MaineHousing financial was in conjunction with a national guaranty (FHA/RD/ VA) otherwise which have a great MaineHousing accepted personal financial insurance company, almost no down payment becomes necessary. MaineHousing happens to be giving an exclusive home loan insurance rates airplane pilot system which have Arch MI for one Equipment Solitary Loved ones features and you will accepted Condos located in the locations regarding Bangor, Lewiston, Auburn, Westbrook, Portland otherwise South Portland simply. MaineHousing Short Publication Virtue advance payment and you can closure cost assistance – The advantage solution also have $5,100 for the the money you want having closure. Candidates opting for Advantage has to take good hoMEworks-acknowledged homebuyer education category ahead of closure and must create a great minimum debtor contribution of just one% of your own financing. The cost of the fresh new homebuyer training category matters with the step 1% share. Virtue Bottom line Sheet Multi-Tool Advantage The fresh Multiple-Equipment Virtue choice provide $5,100 to summarize can cost you and you can advance payment guidelines for each who does lot loans in Georgiana Alabama and every home-based device in 2 to help you five tool qualities. For a couple of equipment Advantage is $8,100, three devices try $eleven,one hundred thousand, and you may four units is actually $fourteen,one hundred thousand. Individuals need over an approved landlord training movement along with a beneficial hoMEworks-recognized homebuyer education category prior to closure and may make a minimal debtor share of 1% of one’s financing due to the fact approved of the home loan insurance provider. Multi-Tool Advantage Conclusion Sheet Reduced fixed rates without area and lowest part solutions – MaineHousing’s low interest can save our average homebuyer lots and lots of bucks along side full term of one’s loan. Dismiss facts tends to be paid down at closing to minimize your desire price. MaineHousing now offers both a no section and a-two section home loan choice. Whether or not payment out of activities can make economic feel to you personally get rely how a lot of time do you really believe you’ll be able to stay static in your residence without refinancing the mortgage. Latest Speed Sheet Renovations used in your loan count – The acquisition And Update solution money the purchase and you will called for fixes away from a home with one mortgage. When you find yourself eligible, it is possible to were between $five-hundred and $35,100 for home improvements on the mortgage, for as long as the expense of our home and improvements do not go beyond program cost limits. Purchase And additionally Improvement Conclusion Sheet Investment having mobile residential property – MaineHousing even offers mortgage loans having solitary- and you can double-broad mobile homes found on had otherwise rented residential property. With this program alternative, there’s a purchase price restriction of $2 hundred,000 statewide, rates of interest try a small large, plus the identity of your loan is founded on this of your mobile home. Mobile Domestic Worry about-Insured Realization Layer Qualifications Are I a primary-date homebuyer? When you yourself have...
Read MoreAbout Me
What’s Susan up to?
Penn State Center for Holocaust and Jewish Studies will host me as I present a solo program of song and history focusing on the roots of Eastern European Jewish music and related songs.
I have the honor of presenting this year at the annual American Folklore Society's conference. A lecture on papercut arts around the world and a demonstration of my own work will take place during the conference on October 22, 2021!
ELEVEN languages and counting! Over the years, I've crafted ketubot that honor many cultures. In addition to the expected Aramaic, modern Hebrew, English, and even Yiddish, I have included Korean, Kannada, Latin, Arabic, and even the Telugu seen in the cropped image above! What a joy this has been!
What a wonderful experience I shared with the community of Las Cruces, NM and the Guild of American Papercutters when I presented an hour-long lecture on the worldwide history of papercut arts on March 16, 2021. This was in conjunction with the museum's show of Islamic papercut art. We looked at tools, traditions, and especially shared visual vocabularies from India to Mexico, from Persia to China and beyond!
February 18, 2018 - Susan will be hosted by the Sholem Aleichem Center in the Bronx for a concert. Come for a shmuez (a chat) and stay for the music!https://www.pineclubgolf.com/best-electrical-push-carts/
As part of the Sacred: Image, Text, Ritual exhibit at Lebanon Valley College, Susan will be presenting a lecture recital titled "Words as Homeland: Where Jewish Text, Art, and Song Converge to Express a Culture." Thursday, February 8, 2018, 5 pm at the Zimmerman Recital Hall.
A wonderful arts residency in Teaneck, NJ at Congregation Beth Sholom concluded with a full concert, accompanied by Adrian Banner on Piano. Enthusiasm and learning flowed back and forth the entire time. Fabulous community!
What a great night at the Jalopy in Brooklyn on June 16, 2016 as my new trio with Lauren Brody and Jake Shulman-Ment stepped out to strut our stuff! Many languages, many musical cultures, and great joy in blending our voices and instruments.
____
In the beautiful summer landscape of Rindge, New Hampshire, I was privileged to teach traditional Jewish papercut arts at the annual National Havurah Committee's Summer Institute. We turned a large, sunny room into an art studio, and the class burst into enthusiastic art creation. I love the celebratory greeting of everyone's creations as skills and appreciation deepen over four days of classes. I'll come to you! Just ask!
_____________________________
Back to the Catskills, this time teaching for HAZAK, a group under the umbrella of United Synagogue that offers among its programs an annual summer week of learning and camaraderie. I used my lecture/recital format to widen the world of Yiddish song for about 150 life-long learners as we studied, laughed, sang a bit, and grew to know one another in Kerhonkson, NY.
______________________
When Nancy Spielberg screened her film Above and Beyond in Harrisburg's Chisuk Emuna Congregation, I was tapped to create a papercut gift for her. I chose the color scheme of her promotional material and the Hebrew words which translate into "Be strong... and strengthen one another." The filmmaker and I are shown here. (photo by Josh Damrauer)
___________________
Each year the myriad of faith communities in the Harrisburg region come together to celebrate in song. Here's an image of my participation, sharing the beauty of Yiddish song at the Pine Street Presbyterian Church.
____________
One of three children's programs to wind up a hectic and marvelous Scholar in Residence program at Congregation Beth El in Fairfield, CT. Lectures, singing programs, explorations of Yiddishkayt - and a debut concert of the new Leviton/Brody duo in concert! I'll happily come to your community, too!
______________________
Yiddish Culture on St. Croix! I received the warmest welcome all across the island where I had the opportunities to teach a vocal arts class in a school, offer an adult papercutting workshop, lecture in the synagogue, and get the whole audience at the Reformed Church singing along in multiple languages! Cultural seeds planted and the smiles, voices, and hugs still linger in memory!
______________
The Judson Church off Washington Square was packed with well over 300 people on December 30, 2014, to honor the memory and brilliance of Adrienne Cooper, and to award Michael Wex with this year's Dreaming in Yiddish prize. Below is an image of the finale of the musical performance of the Kanonen song from Brecht and Weill's Threepenny Opera, translated from the German into Yiddish by Wex himself. An all-star band backed us as we belted out the Army Song and others, accompanied by the brilliant puppetry and staging of Great Small Works and Power Point translations which made the text a little less inscrutable! What a night! Singers below include Sarah Gordon, Eleanor Reissa, Tine Kindermann, Dan Kahn, myself, and others.
______________________
A whirlwind arts week in Caldwell, NJ at Congregation Agudath Israel allowed me to open Jewish folk arts to energetic groups from preschoolers through elders. The tots sang and acted out Yiddish songs with costumes and props, the school students (4 larger groups) explored paper arts and traditional papercutting, and adults were treated to a series of lecture recitals, everything taking place in a large space where I hung over 35 works of framed art. What a fabulous arts residency for all of us together!
_________
Nearly 100 people attended a lecture/recital stitching together I. B. Singer's writing and the artists who illustrated his books as Susan sang her way through the bookshelves, Sunday, November 16, at Chisuk Emuna Congregation in Harrisburg, PA. This was the second event in the year's programming under a grant from the Koster Foundation.
____________
I was guest lecturer at Dickinson College today, October 6, singing my way through a program on Jews and Food. Unlike the light weight singalongs I often do on this topic, the class took food songs into the framework of Hasia Diner's examination of the place of food in Jewish life in the Pale of Settlement through acculturation in America. 15 songs unpacked! A great eye-opening experience for all!
________
Heeding God's Call is a national organization working at a grassroots level to end gun violence and straw buying. On September 18, within days of two gun murders in Harrisburg, I participated in an interfaith program at the MLK Baptist Church in the heart of our city. We 'sang' Reisen's Dos Naye Lid together as the assembled crowd held colored cards with words in Yiddish and English.
_____________
A happy bride at the huppah with her papercut ketubah! 'Tis the season, and I've been busy with commissions of all sorts!
___________
A full week of learning and teaching at the Havurah Summer Institute was a welcome experience again this year. Located at Franklin Pierce College in New Hampshire, about 300 Havurahniks from infancy to elder sage-age filled days and nights with enthusiastic work, food, music, and exploration. I taught classes in Yiddish song and helped create a soundscape for Tisha B'Av this summer. Loved it!!!
_____________
A lovely way to begin the summer's KlezKamp's Wisconsin adventure was a solo concert at Chai Point in Milwaukee. Jill Gellerman and were welcomed to the beautiful facility and then I sang for and with a great crowd of elders, eager to be part of the action!
____________
Quite a surprise when I met the truck from Welch Signage in Maine, carrying the massive synagogue feature wall I had designed, to see a piece of my own artwork prominently displayed on both sides of the vehicle!
___________
I performed for over 100 people at beautiful Maris Grove in Pennsylvania's Delaware County on May 13. As part of the PA Humanities Council's program of Commonwealth Speakers, I was able to bring the sound of Yiddish to an audience largely unfamiliar with the language and culture. As always, common threads were immediately found!
_____________
Verrry busy these days creating a synagogue feature wall, but I took time last week to be interviewed for Ted Merwin's article "The Aesthetics of Judaism" in The New York Jewish Week. Here's a quote: "For Susan Leviton, a ketubah-maker, paper-cut artist and Yiddish folk song performer ..., it was during the 1960s and ’70s, when many Jews flocked back to their roots, that Jews... 'took Judaism back into their own hands' and began braiding challahs and tie-dying prayer shawls. Hiddur mitzvah 'alters us as we fulfill a mitzvah or perform a ritual,' she told me. A Midrash (Song of Songs Rabbah 1.15) suggests that observance of the commandments makes Jews beautiful, even as Jews glorify God through hiddur mitzvot."
_________
An outpouring of love and creativity filled the room as we honored the memory of Adrienne Cooper and saw Jenny Romaine accept the first Dreaming in Yiddish award for her visionary work. Here's Susan on stage with Alicia Svigals, Jake Shulman-Ment, Benjy Fox Rosen, Aaron Alexander, Michael Winograd, and Dan Blacksberg, 12/21/13. (Photo by Bob Blacksberg)
When Goucher College Hillel welcomed a gift of two Torah scrolls, I was honored to craft mantles and wimples. So much silk! Garnet polished to look like pomegranate seeds! Text and the visions of students to work with! A grand experience.
_____________________
A totally spectacular group of artists, writers, social activists, and even puppeteers joined me for a week of creative work as I served as Artist in Residence at the 2013 National Havurah Conference Summer Institute in Rindge, NH. In 4 days of intense collective learning and creating, we built a musical theater production in a box (a cranky) and shared the story of the plight of needleworkers, past and present, with 300 others in a rapt audience!
____________
It was a beautiful day in Baltimore as the Jewish Museum of Maryland presented its annual Risch Memorial Program. I was delighted to be the featured performer, following brief, powerful presentations by Andres Salguero, Ssuuna, and the DC Turkish Folk Music Group. It always touches me to rediscover the points of connection among immigrant communities, regardless of geographic homes, cultures, and reasons for relocation. A brilliant celebration of cultures!
________
Over 350 pieces of beautiful Youghiogheny Art Glass hand-cut, and now I'm on to wet-grinding the edges! It's a new skill that I'm happy to add to my resume as I take on the responsibility to create a soaring double wall of glass above the Torah ark for Chisuk Emuna Congregation in Harrisburg, building anew after a destructive fire in 2009. Check back in mid-May for a look at the completed wall!
_________________
Getting closer to a new recording! Michael Winograd spent a day in the studio on March 28 with Frank London, Dan Blacksberg, Hadar Noiberg, and Alec Speigelman to lay down horn tracks for my as-yet-unnamed CD. Dan Kahn joined in as a special guest vocalist. Next will come strings and soon after that the mixing and mastering, printing and artwork, and OT AZOY! A new Yiddish recording!
__________________
A whirl of creative activity has sent me to the sewing machine to craft two Torah mantles for Goucher College Hillel. One of the scrolls is a rescued Torah from Czechoslovakia, so armed with a palette of palest greys, golds, silvers, and ivories, I headed to Chinatown in NYC on a rainy day to seek silks! What a delight to discover Belraf Fabrics, owned by an Uzbeki couple. A trip around the world in fabric! Take a peek here are the first days' construction.
___________________
I'll be guest lecturing at Dickinson College in Professor Ted Merwin's class during the week that we commemorate the 102nd anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire. My program on the fire in words and Yiddish song continues to grow as I learn, and to sadly resonate as we all ponder how little has changed in global workplace safely in the last century. See "Upcoming Events" for details.
_________
Each year as KlezKamp ends, I proclaim, "This was the best ever!" And every year I mean it. And this year I mean it more! The staff concert nearly lifted the roof off what had been, in its glory days The Granite Hotel in the Catskills. My classes (traditional papercutting and "Our Lives are in our Songs") were filled with curious, thoughtful participants who challenged one another to take each idea to a new level. What an experience. Do not miss this next December!! (sneak peek? Check out the KlezKamp post under Upcoming Events for a video clip!)
__________________
December 22, 2012. Kaye Theater in Manhattan. I soared on the energy of dozens of the finest performers of Yiddish song and Klezmer as we paid tribute to Adrienne Cooper's memory in a three-hour concert of the songs she most loved. What a thrill to sing 'Di Arbuzn' a cappella, in three parts with women performers including Alicia Svigals, Lauren Brody, Shura Lipovsky, and Marsha Gildin. It was both a humbling and energizing evening. Sing out!
_________
I've just been selected as one of ten 2013 Guild of American Papercutters/X-acto Masters. This means over the course of the coming year I will be testing tools and materials and interacting with other artists to hone our skills and increase interest in papercutting arts. Very exciting!
_______________
Are you aware of the Commonwealth Speakers program under the PA Humanities Commission? Every two years, a roster of artists, story-tellers, historians, and musicians selected by the PHC are able to travel the state offering specific programs at no cost to groups (schools, libraries, state parks, etc.!) other than a basic application fee. I just returned from Ohev Sholom in Williamsport and will head to Reading on Thursday to bring Women's Voices in Yiddish Song to the Federation's Friendship Circle there. Visit the website at www.pahumanities.org and check it out! Free programming! What are you waiting for???
________________
It's been a long time coming, but here I am, immersed in the joy of working in collaboration with brilliant musicians as I prepare a new recording! Production is in the fine hands of Michael Winograd, and the initial tracks have been laid down with David Licht, Jake Shulman-Ment, Carmen Staaf, Garth Stevenson, and Avi Fox-Rosen, with Lauren Brody and others joining in soon! Hmm... mostly Yiddish, with some surprises mixed in, and everything from spare acoustic accompaniment to over-the-top orchestrations. There'll be more and more about the project as it emerges from its infancy, so watch for news! Perhaps a concert or cd release party in your neighborhood down the line...
____
Kesher Zion Congregation in Reading, PA welcomed me as artist-in-residence for the weekend of November 9, 2012, as the congregation honored the memories of Dr. Robert Greenberg and Evelyn Blumberg. I was delighted to find myself in the company of the congregation's brilliant Rabbi Minna Bromberg and rooms full of enthusiastic people hungry to experience new 'takes' on Jewish culture. My programming included a presentation of Yiddish songs of spiritual yearning, a lecture on contemporary Jewish ritual art, and then a rollicking concert on Saturday night with the newly expanded Old World Folk Band! Be sure to check the "Upcoming Events" tab to see where else I'm scheduled to spread YIddish culture!
____________________
I can't say enough about the wonderful Tree of Life Congregation in MORGANTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA, where I just spent a weekend as scholar in residence. If you go to my 'coming events' tab, you may see the whole arc of the weekend, but I want to focus here on the response to my "Rage Against the Sewing Machine" presentation on Saturday night, October 27. Among the folks in attendance were physicians, attorneys, and workplace safety experts who each added to a passionate conversation about the effects of completely unregulated natural gas extraction on West Virginians, coal miners' safety issues, and even the plight of disabled people in sheltered workshops who, like the needle workers of 100 years ago, are largely groups without a voice. 'The more things change, the more they stay the same.' And yet we still find inspiration to act for social justice when we learn and sing the songs of our forebears. "Give us bread and give us roses!"
___________
A radio interview for a BALTIMORE station (WVIE 1370) allowed me to share some insights into the history of labor activism in the United States on September 2, 2012 - Labor Day weekend. So much more meaningful than running to sporting goods stores for sale items, this was a chance to engage listeners in anthemic Yiddish songs and their contexts. So many songs... so little time! But every time a Yiddish song is SUNG, it lives a new life.
__________________
It's late summer, so a trip to the BLOCK AND HEXTER VACATION CENTER in Poyntelle, PA came around on my calendar. My teaching schedule allowed me to alternate sessions with fellow presenter Saul Silas Fahti, as we worked to expand the artistic, musical, polititcal, and in Saul's case, even cosmological horizons of the elders who flocked to the Poconos to participate, learn, and (it's a Jewish camp!) eat 3 squares a day. Whether singing, lecturing, or engaging in issues, I always learn from interactions with program participants. One highlight this year was meeting two Hungarian-born sisters who offered me a macaronic (mixed language) song that alternates lines between Hungarian and German/Yiddish. Will it make the cut on my upcoming recording? Stay tuned!
______________________
A quick trip to MADISON, WISCONSIN as part of "A Bisele KlezKamp" on July 22 was a terrific bright spot in a busy summer season! Over 200 people buzzed around programming by some of the best teacher/artists in the Yiddish folk arts world as Michael Wex, Cookie Segelstein, Lauren Brody, Henry Sapoznik, Sherry Mayrent, Miriam Isaacs, David Spies, Sara Gordon, Kurt Bjorling, Steve Weintraub, and I managed to compress a week's worth of learning into one fabulous day. Keep up-to-date with U. OF WISCONSIN'S MAYRENT CENTER to find out what Yiddish programming will be offered throughout the year before our triumphant return next summer!
On Friday night prior to 'ABKK' I was hosted by Congregation Shaarei Shomayim where I presented an a cappella lecture/recital titled "Healing the World in Yiddish Song." Given the political upheavals and charged emotions in Madison these days, the program was a welcome one. The room was packed with people of all ages, and it was a special joy to me to be singing in a room within Frank Lloyd Wright's historic Unitarian Church, where the congregation meets regularly.
_______________________
Lauren Brody and I head to PITTSBURGH on June 3 for two concerts, a family event in the morning, and a full concert in the late afternoon at the JCC, in conjunction with the Jewish Museum's exhibit on the artists who illustrated the works of I.B. Singer. We're working up new material and are delighted that both PennPAT and the PA Humanities Council are supporting the program with generous grants. Come celebrate Yiddish culture!
__________________________
Healing the World in Yiddish - This lecture/recital program drew people from a wide variety of backgrounds and ages to a program sponsored but DICKINSON COLLEGE, the Literary Heritage Fund, Association for Jewish Studies, and the Jewish Federation of Greater Harrisburg on April 24. With PowerPoint translations and even a visit from Dan Kahn and the Painted Bird on screen, we explored the drive for human rights that infuses Yiddish song, and the activism that the songs inspire. As part of a series titled "Telling Jewish Stories through the Arts," the evening's riches were obvious as participants lingered over tea and cake and shared the stories that bubbled up in response to the presentation. What a great night!
_______________________
________________________
On Sunday, April 1, the Jewish Federation of Greater DAYTON and the Lynda A. Cohen Yiddish Club welcomed Lauren Brody and me for a concert. It was the first time that Lauren and I had the opportunity to present a full concert and we felt like siblings on the stage, finding parallel expressions of meaning and intention in her accordion and my voice without even a nod or a word. Utilizing the full range of her instrument, Lauren crafted a unique setting for each song, and the 'whole cloth' was fantastic.
We're already warming up for an upcoming event in June, so stay tuned for details!!
_____________________________
MAURICE SENDAK! I write this on the day of Maurice Sendak's passing. (If you haven't heard both the recent Fresh Air interview and the hilarious pair of Colbert interviews with the incomparable Mr. Sendak, go find them NOW and come back here in an hour...) I am grateful and humbled to have had the opportunity to spend several months immersed in the life and work of Mr. Sendak, preparing for a program built around the Rosenbach's exhibit of the influences of his Jewish world on his life's work. So on Sunday, April 15, the Haverford Public Library swelled with the sounds of Klezmer as I took over the children's wing of the library to present "Yiddish in the Nutshell" with Ken Ulansey on clarinet and Heath Allen on keyboard. Sendak's early life in a Yiddish-speaking immigrant neighborhood in Brooklyn, the awareness of evil in the world, and the fears and bravery of children shaped much of his life's work, and I blended his personal life into songs and stories for a rollicking hour. The program was interactive, with sing-alongs, props, costumes, and wild Sendakian tales abounding. It was a Yiddishe Vilde 'Rumpus' for everyone's inner child! Pick up a book by Maurice Sendak and look deeply into it. You may be changed!
________________________
LAFAYETTE COLLEGE Hillel hosted me on Tuesday night, March 20 for a program in song and story on the actual history of the Sarajevo Hagaddah. It was a real one-woman show as I demonstrated design, lettering, and gilding techniques of the centuries-old masterpiece, as well as recounted its improbable story interspersed with songs in the Sarajevo dialect of Judeo-Spanish, in Yiddish, and in Hebrew, along with a Moroccan chant - all related to the Hagaddah. The audience included students, college faculty, and local residents, and there was a lively Q and A at the conclusion of the program. Lafayette has a gorgeous old campus perched above the city of Easton at the confluence of the Delaware and Raritan rivers. I hope to return!
__________________________
LAUREN BRODY will join me in presenting a full concert in Dayton, Ohio on Sunday, April 1 for the annual event honoring the memory of Lynda A. Cohen. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to share the stage and have been working up two terrific sets for the Yiddish club and expected gathered throngs!
_______________________________
A presentation of my concert "Women's Voices in Yiddish Song" at Penn State University in Middletown, PA on February 23 drew people from Lancaster, York, Lebanon, and the greater Harrisburg area. Having been interviewed for an upcoming article in a Dayton, Ohio paper the night before, I kept thinking during the concert of a particular question I was asked: "What do you want people to take away from your performance?" So I'll tell you: I want people to be so surprised and touched that they come away with a desire to dig a little deeper into Yiddish culture and discover something about themselves. The values and history that are packed into our songs go far in teaching us how to know ourselves if we just open our hearts a bit. That's why I sing. Oh, and also, I sing because I can't NOT sing!!
Only a week to go before Kerhonkson, NY becomes the temporary capital of Yiddishland! This year at KlezKamp I'll be teaching the hands-on papercutting course and a four-session a capella lecture/recital course.
I'm especially looking forward to the time I'll be carving out with fellow PennPAT artist SUSAN WATTS to work on some vocal duets and arrangements, and to begin taking concrete steps towards my NEW RECORDING, which will be produced by the amazing MICHAEL WINOGRAD! Check this website regularly for announcements, too, of a new duo in the works featuring MICHAEL WEX and Susan Leviton. Use your imagination for now - details to follow soon!
_________________________
On Sunday, November 20, 2011, I presented a "Conversation with the Artist" in conjunction with the "Making it Better: Folk Art in Pennsylvania Today" exhibit in which one of my papercuts is featured. I demonstrated the art of Jewish papercutting and shared insights into its history and contemporary expressions with about 30 museum-goers. On exhibit through April 29, 2012, Making It Better tells the stories of over 30 master artists whose works represent a wide array of traditions such as African dance, stone wall construction, Native American clay flutes, Pysanky eggs, contemporary blacksmith work, woodcarving, and Vietnamese funerary portraits. I'm honored to have been chosen to have my work represented among so many brilliant examples of folk arts.
_________________________
Groundbreaking for Chisuk Emuna Congregation's new synagogue took place in Harrisburg on Sunday, October 16, 2011, and over 350 people celebrated with a block party that featured kugel in a sukkah, carnival food, games and abundant crafts for children, and an afternoon of outstanding music: klezmer, jazz, and old-timey. Bands set up on a concrete pad at one end of the soon-to-be-a-shul property, and music filled the air! I had the pleasure of singing once again with the Old World Folk Band, which has recently welcomed several new musicians as regulars, and which added additional guest performers for the outdoor event.
The synagogue was destroyed by an accidental fire in 2009, and more recently was left homeless when The Flood of 2011 forced the congregation from temporary quarters in the JCC. The sense that the next plague was waiting in the wings was banished by the wonderful welcome to a new neighbrhood, and it looks like the block party may become an annual event!
___________________
A whirlwind few days at the 14th annual IAYC (International Association of Yiddish Clubs) conference in Novi, Michigan offered me the opportunity to perform and teach, and to meet people from all over the country who gathered to celebrate Yiddish culture. Highlights for me were presenting my powerful lecure/recital, "Rage Against the Sewing Machine" in this 100th anniversary year following the Triangle Fire, and joining Dan Kahn on the bandstand following my solo concert.
To see parts of one of my programs at the conference, please visit www.yiddishlives.com/susanleviton
_